The FAO Special Forum “World Food Summit : ten years later” and related events Rome, 29th of October - 4th of November 2006

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Stake for civil society and citizens

The IPC secretariat, in collaboration with the Italian Committee for Food Sovereignty (the national Italian Committee for the follow-up of questions of food security), propose to denounce the incapacity of governments to respect their own commitments, which were announced during the WFS (1996) and during the “WFS ; five years later” (2002). The IPC considers that they do not meet their objectives to protect people and that they have given up on their function to regulate agricultural and food system to the benefit of oligopolies which control the agricultural trade and the distribution of foodstuffs.

When the event was to take place mid-September, the IPC had planned a conference -debate with Italian and European decision-makers organized in collaboration with the Italian Platform for Food Sovereignty. In addition, the IPC would like to organize a « very imaginative » demonstration in front of the FAO and any ideas for this event are still welcome...

Other areas of interest that have been suggested by the IPC are the responsibility of the food retailing industry and the “contract-farming”.The IPC has identified persons with convincing dialogue and experience in order to prepare the debates of the plenary sessions in the Special Forum and in the conference - debate with Italian and European politicians.

Special Forum « WFS ; ten years later »

The Special Forum, which was first to happen in September was postponed by the FAO during the summer. Hence, all the parallel activities planned by the International Planification Committee were postponed as well.

However, the FAO concept is not modified even though its dimensions have been reduced a little. The Special Forum will allow for a direct dialogue between the representatives of governments and those of civil society organizations, NGOS, social movements, but also representatives of the private sector and others entities (there was the idea to invite local authorities).

The IPC was asked to participate in the organization of this Special Forum, notably by proposing speakers for the discussion panels and by facilitating the participation of organizations. As it has already been the case in the past, the IPC has some funding to this effect. But the IPC plans other events as well.

Early July, the IPC had received a first proposal of the FAO for the program of the Special Forum. This program was negotiated and had to be reduced thereafter because of strong time constraints (related to the willingness to involve Heads of State).

You will find hereafter a summary of the first proposal drafted by the secretariat of the CFS, proposal which could still be modified.

Negotiations were carried out by the IPC with the secretariat of the CFS for the composition of the 4 workshops which will take place at the time of the special Forum, on the following basis :

1. in the panels, half of the members are proposed by the IPC.

2. indicative names were provided to specify membership.

3. the proposal of speakers’ names facilitated by the IPC was made while trying to maintain an equilibrium between social groups, regions and gender.The proposals can still be modified, but it was necessary to provide names so that the FAO could prepare official invitation letters, since the Special Forum is part of the Committee for World Food Security (CFS), a FAO directing unit.

4. the IPC is not the only one to speak as the "rightful claimant" and thus there are also other people invited by the FAO (such as the "ad hoc" group representing international organizations) ; the IPC must take this into account but it must also play its role as a central interlocutor for the facilitation of civil society participation by respecting the mandate of civil society as it was defined during the civil society Forum on the occasion of the “WFS ; five years later”.

5. the working method is the same one that was used for the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD).

Until now, a financing of the Italian Government of 200.000$ was approved to ensure the participation of representatives of NGOs/CSOs/Social Movements. This guarantees the participation from approximately 60 delegates, beyond the members of the IPC which needs to be financed.

It is good to recall that the financing is only meant for organizations, belonging or not to the IPC, which cannot finance the participation of a representative, therefore primarily organizations from the South and from European countries that are not members of the European Union.

The IPC must thus prepare the delegations and it proposes to follow criteria similar to those used for the Forum in Porto Alegre (March 2006) : 10 persons per region (in addition to the IPC members), including 4 farmers’ organizations, 2 fisherkolk’s organizations, 2 indigenous people’s organizations and 2 for the remainder, taking into account the nature of the organizations in each region.

This is where one finds the NGOs. These rules nevertheless will be adapted, in particular in Europe where, for example, the place of indigenous people does not have the same importance as in other continents, whereas NGOs of all types are very present.

General timetable

Sunday 29th of October 2006 (morning)Joint meeting between the IPC members and those of the « More and better » Campaign on the strategy to be adopted at the Committee for World Food Security (CFS) and in preparation for the Special Forum.

Sunday 29th of October 2006 (FAO, from 16 :00h)Meeting of all delegates and Special Forum participants with members of the IPC and of the « More and better » Campaign in order to prepare the participation to the World Food Security Committee (CFS) and to the Special Forum.Also let us specify that the FAO building will be accessible to accredited persons at least on Sunday morning (perhaps earlier, but that is not yet confirmed) and that should allow the intervening groups in the Forum (major groups such as "NGOs", "organizations of agricultural producers", "indigenous people", etc.) to prepare their interventions for the Forum.

From Monday 30th of October until Saturday 4th of November 2006 (FAO)« Committee for World Food Security » (CFS).

Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st of October 2006 (FAO)Special Forum « WFS ; ten years later », within the framework of the CFS.

Wednesday 1st of November 2006Meeting of the « More and better » Campaign.

Thursday 2nd of November 2006Parallel events organized by the IPC.Working groups of the IPC on agrarian reform and research in agriculture (for information).Meeting of the IPC Human Rights Working Group with the interested people present in Rome. The discussion and strategy around the issue of the Global Right to Food Network will be one point at the agenda.

Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th of November 2006Events of the Italian and international civil societies and conference - debate with Italian and European decision-makers on the commitments made by the EU (in collaboration with the Italian Platform for Food Sovereignty).

Saturday 4th of November 2006Special Session on the Right to Food. During the session, there will be the opportunity for CSO/NGOs to present material in the form of stands. The stands will have 5 thematic orientations.Launching of the Global Right to Food Network at the initiative of the FAO to bring together States, CSO/NGOs to support implementation at the national level.

Participation in the Special Forum ; ten years later »

For the participation in the special Forum, the IPC is required to maintain a certain balance between the representatives of governments and those of civil society. In addition, any organization can take part in the Committee for Food Security (CFS) with the usual rules, i.e. as an observer and with the accreditation via an international organization.

Among the participants of civil society in the Special Forum, one can distinguish :- members of the IPC and the "More and better" campaign ;- 60 delegates from the enlarged network of food sovereignty facilitated by the IPC (organizations of indigenous people, fishermen, peasants, women) ;- representatives of other civil society organizations which will participate in their expenses ;- members of other structures accredited to FAO, like the members of the "Ad hoc" Group of international organizations accredited to FAO.

In theory, there will be no distinction between "observers" and "participants" during the special Forum, yet the interventions will not be free because the secretariat of the CFS made a point in organizing the time of interventions during the Forum debates, this in concert with the IPC and taking care to respect the particularly tight time constraints.

Participation in the Special Forum in practice

In order to take part in the Committee for Food Security (CFS) and/or in the special Forum, it is necessary to request an accreditation from the FAO Committee for Food Security.

At the Committee for Food Security, NGOs are accredited as observers (the process of the Forum is an exception) and they can be accredited only as international organizations.

However, for those who do not represent an international organization, other possibilities exist. For those who are financed by the IPC and for the members of the IPC, the accreditation will be done via the IPC.

For others, either they have the possibility to pass by an international organization with which they collaborate (e.g. CONCORD for the DNGO of the EU or possible networks to which they belong), or they do not have this possibility. The organizations which are in the latter case can address a request to the IPC (the European organizations can contact me) and the IPC will inform them whether it is possible.

In practice, here is the procedure to be followed by international organizations wishing an accreditation for their staff or for a member organization.

It is first necessary to express the intention to participate in the Committee for Food Security and/or in the Forum by sending an e-mail to the contact person of the Committee’s secretariat, Mrs. Margarita Flores, whose address is :margarita.flores@fao.org

If your request is accepted, you will receive an invitation or the documents of accreditation. I do not know if the list of the "representatives" who will take part under an international organization must be provided at this stage, but it is better to already indicate with this first request the names of the people interested.

Here is the procedure which was advised by the Office responsible for the follow-up of the World Food Summit and alliances, whose addresses are :Thomas.Price@fao.org (Thomas Price)Diego, and Colatei@fao.org (Diego Colatei).

More information is also available on the site of the FAO. Go the heading "meetings", then "Committee Food Security", then "directing bodies of FAO" and "information for the participants".

Proposition made by the FAO and the secretariat of the CFS for the Special Forum « WFS ; ten years later »

The proposals hereafter were made in July. Hence, some changes may have occurred since then.

Organisation of SessionsThree plenary sessions are planned each day with interpretation in the official languages and in Italian.The Special Forum will be co-facilitated by the Bureau of the CFS and the representatives of other social agents, in particular from civil society.

The situation of hunger in the worldMonday, October 30 : Sessions one and two - 10.00-12.30 & 14.30-17.30Opening Speech by the Director General. Presentation of the Documents of the CFS Secretariat :1) Mid Term Review of Achieving the World Food Summit Target ; 2) The Seven Commitments : A Mid Term Progress Assessment.

Actions to be takenMonday, October 30 : Session three - 18.00-21.00Tuesday, October 31 : Sessions four, five and six - 9.30-12.30, 14.30-17.30 & 18.00-21.00.

Objectives of the panels, interventions of the panels’ members and debatesEach session will have a panel with six members. Each panellist will have a maximum of 10 minutes to intervene, highlighting key issues and areas for future joint actions. The selection of panellists will be done in order to have a balanced representation of the different stakeholder groups, gender, region, and recognized authority on the relevant topic.The presentations by panellists will be followed by a debate. The discussions should lead to a certain form of consensus, or at least on some concepts and proposals on the respective roles of each actor, on the specific role that FAO should play to achieve the goals of the WFS before 2015.

The panelsThe panels will be on : agrarian reform and food sovereignty, assistance and investment ; research and innovation, and trade and globalisationHere are the details with the names suggested by the IPC or other institutions.

Panel 4. Trade and globalisationCivil Society Organizations have expressed a strong interest in this topic and wish to address their concerns directly. In particular, regarding the impacts of international trade agreements and international organizations especially the WTO. In fact, they would like to argue strongly for the special status of agriculture and family farming and for the role that FAO should play at the global, regional and national levels to foster policies favourable to farmers, fishers and herders.Chairman for the running of the session : To be determinedReference : WFS Action Plan, Commitment Four.Panellists proposed by IPC :Ndiogou Fall, President, Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et Producteurs Agricoles de l’Áfrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA)Paul Nicholson (Via Campesina)Pedro Avendaño, Executive Director, World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fishworkers (WFF)Jack Wilkinson, President, International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)Other pannelitsGovernments of India and EU (Président commission agriculture du Parlement européen)Karit Parikh, Planning Commission, IndiaPrivate Sector (Yet to be chosen)Institutions :Mr Bernard Hoekman, Managing director on trade issues at the research department of the World BankMr Martin Khor, President, Third World Network, Geneva

Questions for all panels : no more than four key questions to guide and structure the debate

Conference and debate with the Italian and European decision makers

A conference and a debate will be prepared in collaboration with the Italian Platform for Food Sovreignty. It is a lobbying action aiming to change policies, regarding the fact that the IPC identified the EU as one of the more important responsible for imposing the structural adjustment policies and the free-trade agenda for agriculture on the planet.The IPC will try to communicate directly its messages threw a debate with the Responsibles of the European Commission and Council. The IPC and the Italian Platform for Food Sovreignty were negociating with the EU.

« More and better » Campaign on the financing of agricultural development

The preliminary agenda for the “More and Better”-meeting is the following :Joint meeting with IPC (Sunday 29th of October 2006)« More and better » meeting (Wednesday 1st of November 2006)1. The fight against hunger - What is needed to eradicate hunger - Preparation for the FAO Special Forum.2. Report about the work of the « More and better » Campaign.3. Situation in development aid for food, agriculture and rural development (case studies, need studies, facts, policies, etc.)4. Accounts and budget for « More and better ».5. Plans for « More and better ».6. Election of the International Coordination Committee.7. Other issues.

If you want to participate at the « More and better » meeting, please send an e-mail to :
secretariat@moreandbetter.org

Information for the persons in charge of the IPC

Airplane tickets. The IPC will buy the airplane tickets. It is absolutely necessary to bring to Rome all the invoices, notes and other documents (boarding passes) for the expenses (visa costs, local travel costs...)Please inform the IPC if you need a visa. The IPC will send an official invitation with your personal data at the Italian Embassy in your country and at your e-mail/fax address.In order to arrange your travel and stay in Rome please send us all the following information :

3. Departure airport and cityName of the airport /of the city of your departure

4. Sending of the informationThese information is to be sended to Alessandra : tc@foodsovereignty.organd in CC to Beatrice : lo@foodsovereignty.org

IPC meeting (for information)

This is the first proposal of agenda for the IPC meeting.1. The IPC process : renewal of focal points (when, how), how to make more transparent and democratic the process after three years of existence, how to evolve, etc.2. The FAO reform and the Special Forum : analysis of the situation of the FAO in the actual context ; how to take make more effective the opportunity to denounce the lack of commitment of Governments since the WFS and the WFS:fyl.3. The Nyeleni Forum (Mali, February 2007) : role and involvement of the IPC ; steps to prepare.4. Working group on agrarian reform.5. Strengthening the constituencies within the Food Sovereignty agenda, especially fisherfolk and indigenous peoples. Proposals for cooperation with the FAO.6. Eventual role of the IPC in the follow up of the meeting on the CBD (Convention on Biologic Diversity) from Curitiba (March 2006) and the first session of the Board of the International Treaty on phyto genetic resources for food and agriculture (Madrid June 2006). To be confirmed.